Machine for extracting fiber from leaves.



No. 734,936. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903..

A. PARRES.

MACHINE FOR EXTRAOTI NG FIBER FROM LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22. 1903.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 U D DEBUG 71 w/msssss F Z //vv/vr0/? *7 z/w l/l/fidtm 8) Alberto Parrea ATTORNEYS ihvtTan STATES Patented July 28, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERTO PARRES, OF MEXICO, MEXICO.

MACHINE FOR EXTRACTING FIBER FROM LEAVES.

Application filed January 22, 1903. Serial No. 140,081. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERTO PARRES, acitizen of the Republic ofMeXiconesiding at Mexico city, in the Republic of Mexico, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forEXtracting Fiber from Leaves, ofwhich the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved machine for extracting fiberfrom leaves, a further object being to provide a machine of the class and for the purpose specified which is particularly designed for use in extracting or separating the fiber from the leaves of what is known as the magueyplant, and especially the species known as the pulque maguey-plant. The leaves of the pulque magueyplant are very large, thick, and fleshy and contain a valuable fiber, which may be worked into various forms and manufactured into various articles of commerce; and the chief object of this invention is to provide a machine which will separate the fiber from the body of the leaf in such a manner that the fiber will not be cut, broken, or otherwise materially injured.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a longitudinal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In the practice of my invention I provide a strong and substantial frame of any preferred construction, but which, as shown in the drawings, consists of side members a, a bot tom a and a top a but said top is not essential, and the bottom may also be dispensed with, and the frame in the form of construction shown is supported by legs c Within the main frame are arranged a plurality of pairs of rollers, the rollers of each pair being arranged one above another, and in the form of construction shown six ers are employed and are pairs of these rolldesignated by the reference characters I), c, d, e, f, and g, and for the purpose of this description the lefthand end of the frame will be designated as the front end of the machine and the lefthand pair of rollers will be designated as the first pair. The rollers of the first pair are separated vertically by a space I) of from three to six inches in depth, and the rollers of the other pair are correspondingly separated by spaces 0 d e*, f", and g and these spaces decrease in depth from the front end to the rear end of the machine, thisdecrease being gradual and so that the space g between the rollers of the rear pair is from onequarter to one-half inch in depth. The rollers of each pair are also provided with annular ribs or projections h, whereby corresponding annular spaces 7L2 are formed, and these ribs or projections and spaces are alternately arranged on the rollers of each pair, so that the ribs or projections on one roller of each pair will extend plane as the annular spaces on the other roller of said pair. The ribs or projections h on the roller of the first pair are about one-half inch in depth, as are also the corresponding annular spaces, and the depth of said ribs or projections on the rollers of each successive pair decrease graduallyfrom the first pair to the last pair, and said ribs or projections and annular spaces are of very slight depth on the last pair, and may be entirely dispensed with on this pair of rollers, if desired. The rollers of each pair at one side of the machine are provided with sprocket-wheels t', and at each end of the machine is placed an independent sprocket-\vheelz' ,ai1d a d rive-chain 11 is placed over the sprocket-wheels of the upper rollers of each pair and around the independent wheels t and over the sprocket-wheel t' of the lower rollers of each pair, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. One of the rollers of the first pair is also provided at one end with a powerwheelj and by means of which any suitable motor may be geared in connection with the machine, so as to drive all the rollers, and it will be understood that by using the chain 1' in the manner described the rollers of each pair will be turned in opposite directions or as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. yinvention, however, is not limited in any way to the method of gearing the rollers in conin the same vertical nection, herein shown and described, and any suitable gearing maybe employed for this purpose.

In practice the leaves of the plant to be treated are fed into the front end of the machine aud gradually pass backwardly therethrough, and in this operation the fleshy part of the plant is compressed and mangled more or less, and this compression increases toward the rear end of the machine, and by the time the leaf emerges from the rear end of the machine all the watery and fleshy substances are extracted therefrom, and nothing remains but the fiber, together with more or less broken and discolored material, which may be easily removed from the fiber by thoroughly Washing the latter-"in any suitable device or apparatus.

In the accompanying, drawings the bottom of the frame is horizontal; but in practice it would probably be preferable to slightly incline the same and backwardly, so thatwthe watery substance from the leaf or leaves would run out at the rear end and drop into any suitable receptacle prepared for it; but it will be apparent that the position of the machine or any inclination that may be given thereto forms no part of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings the separate pairs of rollers are placed quite close together, as is indicated in Fig. 2; butthe space between the separate pairs of rollers may be regulated as desired; but I prefer to place said pairs of rollers in close proximity, so that the leaf or leaves passing between the rollers of each pair will be positively fed from one pair of rollers to the other. My invention is also not limited to the number of pairs of rollers employed, and said rollers may be of any desired length, and any desired numher or quantity of leaves may be passed through'the machine. I also preferably place over the trunnions of the upper roller in the last pair, as shown in B ig. 4, springs 70, which will permit of a slight spring action for the bearings of this roller, and each of the other Myimproved machine for the purpose specified is simple in construction and operation and comparatively inexpensive, and changes in and modifications of the construction herein described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a machine of the class described, a frame; a plurality of pairs of rollers mounted therein; the rollers of each pair being placed one above the other, and the spaces between the rollers of each pair decreasinggradually from one end of the machine to the other; and 7 means for turning the rollers of each pair in opposite directions; the rollers of each pair being also provided with annular ribs or projections forming corresponding annular spaces, and the annular ribs or projections and spaces on one roller being arranged alternately with reference to those of the corresponding roller, the depth of the ribs or projections and said spaces also decreasing from a one end of the frame to the other, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have signed myname, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of January, 1903.

ALBERTO PARRES.

YVitnesses:

J. O. LARSEN, T. A. STEWART. 

